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No pot stores for counties

Leeds-Grenville was left out in the weeds as the province announced the first 14 cities that will get government-run pot shops next summer.

The LCBO, the agency responsible for running the new dispensaries, announced the first batch of selected locations Friday, and though the area may be home to Tweed, the country’s largest cannabis manufacturing company, you won’t be able to buy it at any physical location throughout the counties.

The closest locations will be in Kingston and Ottawa.

Despite having no storefronts anywhere in the Leeds and Grenville area, residents of these and other rural communities will be able to purchase recreational marijuana online, the LCBO said.

“As of July 2018 there will be an online retail channel that will service all regions of the province (including Brockville),” Jessica Martin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance told The Recorder and Times in an email.

She said, however, more storefronts will be opened in different areas throughout the province in the years to come.

“These are the first municipalities to be identified. Municipalities will continue to be identified on an ongoing basis.”

The province plans to open 40 stand-alone stores to sell recreational cannabis by July 1, when the federal Liberals are expected to legalize the drug for recreational use.

Friday’s announcement didn’t specify how many of the stores each of the 14 cities would be getting or where the dispensaries would be located within the cities.

“Over the coming weeks, staff from the Ministry of Finance and the LCBO will meet with staff at the identified municipalities to discuss the guidelines and process for siting stores and local interests,” the LCBO said in a statement.

“The guidelines will achieve our objectives of protecting youth by ensuring stores are not in close proximity to schools, while providing access within communities and addressing the illegal market.”

When considering which municipalities to choose for the initial roll-out, Martin said they wanted to take a “safe and sensible” approach and considered two main points: To ensure an even geographic distribution of stores across the province, and to reduce the number of illegal stores, including dispensaries, currently in operation.

The announcement comes on the heels of new legislation aimed at cracking down on illegal pot shops operating in Ontario after the government-run stores open.

Under the proposed law, which would take effect in July 2018, people caught selling or distributing marijuana could be fined up to $250,000 and jailed up to two years less a day.

Fines for people and dispensaries that continue to break the law would jump to $100,000 and $500,000, respectively, for every day they keep selling cannabis.

The law would also give police the power to immediately shutdown premises they suspect are being used for the illegal sale or distribution of cannabis.

While Ottawa is moving to liberalize Canada’s pot laws, it’s up to the provinces to decide how pot will be sold and distributed.

Adults in Ontario, allowed to possess up to 30 grams, can either buy it from an approved retailer or grow as many as four pot plants each, under the federal plan.